The Oakland A's stepped out of their own small-market shadow to sign Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes this winter. For a day, at least, they've got to be feeling pretty good about that big investment.
Cespedes made his exhibition debut on Saturday and looked like he'd been in the major leagues all along. He walked, homered and hit an RBI single in the A's' 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
No guts. No glory. The Orioles scouted Cespedes pretty hard, but Dan Duquette's new emphasis on international players didn't extend to giving an unknown quantity a four-year, $36 million deal. Maybe a year from now, that decision will look pretty good, but Cespedes made quite a first impression.
The Tampa Bay Rays have a motivational sign in their clubhouse that reads "Fortune favors the bold!" Don't know what the A's' unofficial motto is, but that one would certainly apply.